Smoothies – They are Good for You!

I recently started making smoothies for my family, and I have been asking myself why I didn’t start making them years ago!  I am realizing just how beneficial they can be – a great and easy way to get a few servings of fruits and vegetables into myself and my husband and kids, along with an opportunity to sneak a few things in to make them even healthier.

Since I was new to smoothies, I started off and have stuck to a very basic recipe which I will share below.  The main thing is to have some frozen fruits ready in your freezer.  We have two great GA-grown options available to us through the Co-op:

• Frozen organic strawberries from Miles Berry Farm in Baxley, Georgia
• Frozen pesticide-free blueberries from Flat Creek Lodge in Swainsboro, Georgia.

Stocking up on these made it easy for me to get started.  Plus, I feel good about the fact that they come from so close to home.

Here is my quick and easy list of ingredients.  The rough amounts below will make about 6-7 cups of smoothie, enough for me, my husband, and our two kids.  Adjust to your taste as you make a few:

• Frozen fruit – I use the strawberries and blueberries mentioned above and/or apples and oranges I’ve cut up and frozen.  Any fruit will work – stock up on fresh and cut it up, bag it, and freeze it to have on hand.  About a cup or cup and a half of frozen fruit.
• Fresh fruit – again, whatever I have on hand.  I like to always include a banana.  It seems to balance out the flavor of other fruits.  I’ve used peaches, apples, mangoes.   I usually use 1 banana (maybe 1.5 if they are fresh – frozen the flavor is stronger) and 1 other fruit.
• Kale – I take a couple of stalks of kale, tear off the leafy parts, tear them into about inch-long pieces, and throw them in.  You’d be surprised how well it blends into the flavor of the fruits.  My kids don’t blink an eye.  You can use any leafy vegetable here.  I’ve also heard of people throwing in avocado, and I’m sure that would be tasty, as well.  2 – 3 stalks, leafy parts only.
• Vanilla yogurt – I use the Kalona 5% vanilla yogurt that we get through the Co-op.  It has a low sugar content compared to most yogurts, and it is delicious.  We offer it in the 24oz size, so it’s a good value.  I just pour some in, maybe about a quarter of a cup – use enough to suit your taste.  This is an easy add after you blend, so start small.
• Water – 1 cup.
• Chia – all of these ingredients are optional, this one especially so, but I love adding it to our smoothies.  It does give the smoothie a little more texture, but no real change to the flavor.  If you aren’t familiar with Chia, check out our Chia article that gives an overview of its amazing health benefits.  1 – 2 tablespoons.

Just put the above in your blender, pulse a couple of times, run on the highest setting for 30 – 45 seconds, and you have your smoothie!

Some tips I’ve learned:

• Start with your water and non-frozen ingredients.  That way the frozen items aren’t sitting in the blender too long freezing everything up, making it harder for the blender to work well.
• Make sure your frozen fruit is in workable pieces – i.e. slices of apples/oranges, individual strawberries, blueberries, etc.  Again, easier for the blender.
• It’s easy to add things once you’ve blended to get the taste just right – more yogurt, a few more pieces of fruit, etc.
• Once I’m done blending on the highest setting, I like to blend on a lower setting for 15 seconds or so, just to get everything mixed well.
• Cleaning up is very easy – simply rinse the blender pitcher and its parts, fill the pitcher ¾ of the way with warm water, put a couple of drops of dish soap in the water, and pulse 3 or 4 times for a few seconds.   Rinse and let it air dry.
• It can be frustrating to use a blender that is not suited for making smoothies.  There are some very nice, expensive blenders out there (Vitamix, Blendtec).  I’ve seen these in action, and they are amazing…but pricey.  I did a lot of research trying to find a more economical option and settled on the Ninja Kitchen Blender.  It’s reasonably priced for the power and functionality you get, the pitcher(s) are BPA-free which was a must, and I lucked out and found one on Craigslist.  But you can find them at Target or Amazon.com.  It’s been great for us – we have the one with the small and large pitchers, and I use them both regularly.  I have also used it as a food processor with the small pitcher, and it does a great job in that area, too.

Like I said, I’m still a novice, and I know we have a lot of Co-op members who are smoothie makers.  We’d love to hear any tips or recipes you all have!  You can leave a comment directly on this article.  Let us hear from you!